There’s an old saying:
“There are only two certainties in life: death and taxes.”
Taxes may come and go, but death?
That one feels permanent.
🤓 Exactly who we both needed 🤘
When I was a freshman in college, fresh out of high school and trying to figure out where I would stake my claim in this world, I noticed a guy in my 8:00 AM math class.
He was a few years older than me… and fast asleep in the front row. Andy Arvig
Andy had already been up for five hours, starting work at 3:00 AM cleaning buildings on campus, then went straight to ROTC morning PT, and from there he walked right into pre-calculus.
As riveting as Mr. Mortenson was, Andy was mostly studying the book cover with his face. This was his 3rd time taking the class.
I love math! Sitting on the front row next to Andy, we were getting very different grades.
By the end of the semester I had helped Andy pass pre-calculus and in return Andy taught me how to navigate the adventure called ‘college’. Classes, Girls, Church, and the incredible outdoors of Southern Utah.
It wasn’t uncommon for Andy to show up at my place announcing:
“Pack your stuff. We’re going on an adventure!”
Studying could wait.
⚡️ F5 Fast Files - Short Summary
The day it became real
A canyon in Zion
An empty tomb in Jerusalem
Why Easter changes
📣 Brother shoutouts
Shout out to our friend Dillon who just welcomed another baby into this world! What a beautiful time of year to see the precious gift of new life on display! Congrats, brotha!
🧗🏼♂️ The day it got real for me
I really only had that one semester with Andy.
After that I left on a two-year mission to Everett, Washington, but when I came back, Andy was married and moving to Salt Lake. Our lives scattered a bit in the years that followed. I ended up in North Carolina and he ended up in Virginia, we even met up once for a camping trip out there!
That next fall Andy came back to Southern Utah and planned a canyoneering trip in Zion National Park. He invited my brother and me to come, but we couldn’t make it that day with family visiting for Thanksgiving. He had the permit reserved already, so he found some other friends and went without us.
Andy died in the canyon that day. A small error, combined with fatigue, fading daylight, and cold.
That was the day death became real to me.
Up until then, no one close to me had died unexpectedly. I didn’t realize how incredibly fortunate I was for the good health and LIFE of all my people. So many tomorrows that felt guaranteed.
But they aren’t. Death is certain
❤️ The Other Certainty
Fortunately, there is another certainty.
Because of Jesus Christ, life after death is just as sure!
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:22
This week, Christians across the world remember the final days of Christ’s life.
The Triumphal Entry.
The Last Supper.
Gethsemane.
The cross.
For disciples in the old world, that week must have felt like everything was falling apart!
Until three days later when
The stone rolled away.
The tomb was empty.
And the angel declared:
“He is not here: for he is risen.”
— Matthew 28:6
Death — the most certain thing in life — had just been defeated, forever!
The resurrection of Jesus Christ changed everything.
Because of Him we will live again. Our loved ones will live again. Andy will live again.
🎉 A Week of Joy!
I don’t know what you’ve got going on in your world. It’s a turbulent place. Maybe you have an Andy to mourn this time of year. Maybe you don’t know where you will live next month. Maybe your finances are stretched thin, or you just had surgery, or a new baby, or a heartbreak!
Maybe your life is just unsettled and, like the disciples of old, you feel like everything is falling apart. Easter is an important reminder of hope:
“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”
— John 11:25
Because Christ lives, death does not win.
Because Christ lives, hope does not die.
Because Christ lives, joy is always possible.
🎁 The Gift
There are still questions about what life looks like on the other side of the great divide, but those questions aren’t ours to carry today.
Today we celebrate the victory.
The gift and the giver.
The Only Begotten Son of the Father.
Our Brother.
Jesus Christ.
“O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory?”
— 1 Corinthians 15:55
Happy Easter Yall!
Justin & Jared
F5 Brotherhood
P.S - The LinkTree is still your hub for everything F5 Brotherhood